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- <https://matthewsetter.com/technical-documentation/asciidoc/convert-markdown-to-asciidoc-with-kramdoc/> - <https://matthewsetter.com/technical-documentation/asciidoc/convert-markdown-to-asciidoc-with-kramdoc/>
Tip:
Just dip one end of your fuse in some relatively thick NC lacquer. This will prevent the sulfur from leaking out of the fuse.

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**Fireworks** are types of pyrotechnic devices that are used for entertainment. Usually Fireworks are used for celebrations, New Year and other big and small occasions.
Fireworks are known since around 1400 in Europe. Black powder came to Europe around 1250. The tradition says that Black Powder came from China where it was discovered earlier. According to one version it was Li Tian, who had been named to Zhusheng (the sound of bamboo). He was borne in Dayao, Liuyang in Hunan province, the 18th of april the year 601, under the emperor Renshou and died in the age of 89 years in the year 690. His tomb is in Beidahe in the old Dayao (outside Liuyang, Hunan). In China crackers and fireworks are still used to scare away evil spirits in many occasions as funerals, weddings, openings of shops and for festivals.
Probably the techniques were spread with travellers and merchants to Europe. The Europeans developed the use of black powder and fireworks further. Today the largest production sites of fireworks are in China, but many other countries as Italy, Spain, India and others have their own production of smaller quantities. Japan has a unique tradition in fireworks ("hanabi", which means flowers of fire).
Some milestones:
* 1044 Chinese formulas for gunpowder
* 1267 Earliest references to gunpowder in Europe. (Roger Bacon)
* 1300 (around) First formulas emerged
* 1326 City of Florence planned to buy "canones de metallo" and ammunition
* 1331 First recorded military use at Cividale ( north of Trieste, Italy )
* 1338 A Ribaudequin and 48 bolts where used to attac and burn Southampton
* 1346 Battle of Crécy where Guns where used
* 1540 Pirotechnia by Biringuccio is published in Italy. He describes roman candles, girandoles, crackers and rockets.He also tells that the Pope at celebrations in Rome uses fireworks since many years.
* 1605 November 5, Guy Fawkes tries to blow up the Parliament with 3600 pounds of gunpowder
* 1845 Christian Friedrich Schönbein discovers nitrated cellulose ( nitrocellulose, guncotton )
* 1845 Ascanio Sobrero discovers nitrated glycerin ( nitroglycerin )
* 1864 Alfred Nobel patented his blasting cap
* 1867 Alfred Nobel patented dynamite

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Autobiography of Pyrotechnist Dr. Takeo Shimizu
Published in: New Hampshire Pyrotechnic Association, Inc. Newsletter March 1991 Volume 3, Number 3
I was born in 1912 in the small village of Takamata in Yamaguchi Prefecture which is in the middle part of Japan. My father was a farmer. After I finished primary school I then studied at a middle school in Hagi, a famous town which produced a number of loyalists of the Restoration Period of Meiji, Shoin Yoshida and Shinsaku Takasugi, etc. Hagi faced the Japan Sea and I could hear the sound of the rough sea while I lay in bed at the dormitory of the school on quiet nights.
At school I studied English for the first time. My teacher, T. Ito, had a great respect for English gentlemen. While I was in the fourth year class an accident happened to me. I was severely scalded by him and with that I did not do my English homework. I then became slow with the progress of my English. Many of the school boys dreamed of becoming military or naval officers to perform our duty for our country. I passed the famous severe entrance examination of the Military Academy, although I was not so tough but rather delicate.
The Military Academy was divided in two courses. The preparatory course of two years and the regular or one year and ten months. Between the two there was a duty in a regiment for six months. The preparatory course was for liberal arts and the regular was for military affairs. The students were divided into small learning groups of about thirty people.
Soon after I entered the preparatory course, the teacher read my paper as a superior style in a lesson of composition. I was very much delighted, however, such a case never came again in all my life at the Academy. I only once won at Judo with my friend, Mr. Kondo, who looked much tougher than me, however, I never won in competitions or games in all other cases. Therefore, even at present I have no passion for games of chance. After the preparatory course I arrived at the Saseho Heavy Artillery Regiment in Nagasaki-ken. There I met Lieutenant K. Egucbi and other young officers. They were men of great diligence and would read books of tactics even on their horses. They did not like to spend time on worthless matters. After the duty of hard training I was certainly changed into a more diligent young man when I returned to the Academy to study further in the regular course.
All of the students, called cadets, wore a uniform with shoulder-straps of sergeant and the gorget patches with numbers of regiment. They also seemed changed from the idle students in the preparatory course. I liked the regular course because I was not bothered by mathematics, and physics, etc. I was good in the lessons of tactics, weapons, and surveying. In July 1933 I came down from the Academy at Ichigaya Hill with a diploma.
I started again for my post with the Saseho Heavy Artillery Regiment and in November I was commissioned a sub-lieutenant. Young officers in the regiment were trained with cannon firing. When the black smoke from a shell was found before the target, we had to increase the range of the next shell so that it would fall behind the target. It might seem easy, but for me it was very difficult because I would suddenly forget the position of the black smoke. I was very disappointed and thought I might not be suitable as a company commander on a battlefield. I decided to change the direction of my future life and began the hard study of mathematics, physics, and chemistry in spare moments from my duty.
In November 1934 all officers of Artillery and Engineers of my contemporary came back from the regiments and entered the Military Artillery and Engineer Academy. We were taught mathematics, physics, chemistry, metallurgy, electrical engineering, and ballistics, etc. So many things were stuffed into our heads by the cramming system of the Academy. After the regular course of one year and the higher course of one year I was selected to learn more at Tokyo University.
In April 1937 I entered the School of Explosives at Tokyo University. In my class five other students from regular high schools gathered. Professor Nishimatsu, who was the highest authority of the day on manufacturing explosives, was chief. Professor Dr. N. Yamaga, who was a rear admiral in the Navy, lectured on interior ballistics. Assistant Professor S. Yamamoto lectured on manufacturing explosives. Their speaking was terrible and the students suffered to note their lectures.
I felt most of the lectures in the School of Explosives were not of much interest. Therefore, I often visited the School of Chemistry, where Assistant Dr. Morino was studying the Raman Effect. I learned quantum mechanics with the help of Professor Dr. K. Higashi, who was an authority in the chemical structure of molecules. Dr. Higashi gave me a book, "FUYU NO HANA" which means "WINTER FLOWERS" in English, by Professor Nakaya (1902-1962). It gave me a deep impression that I knew how to do experiments without any noble instruments of high cost, but using only the human head with excellent success. I named such a method "Terada's Style". The late Dr. Terada (1875-1935) was a famous professor in the Faculty of Physics in Tokyo University. Dr. Nakaya was student under Dr. Terada and had most faithfully succeeded Terada's school. Although I had no personal acquaintance with Dr. Nakaya nor Dr. Terada, I decided to succeed Terada's school in my future life. Therefore I thank Dr. Higashi who gave me such a direction until today.
In April 1940 I graduated from Tokyo University and arrived at my post at Ohji Factory of Explosives of the Tokyo Second Military Ordnance. I worked there as the section chief of manufacturing nitric and sulfuric acids. There stood a nitric acid plant producing twenty tons per day. Large absorption towers of 18-8 nickel-chrome steel were in use at that time. There were other sections for manufacturing TNT, picric acid, nitrocellulose, and tetryl and about a thousand people worked at the factory. I learned the controlling method of a chemical plant which moves continuously in the day and night with few people.
Lieutenant Abe and Mr. Kojima who had a special sense on chemical plants helped me. Thus I started with this very interesting work as a chemical engineer. I feel it was the most happy days of my life.
After the daytime duty in the factory was over I studied in my home at Saginomiya in the western part of Tokyo, I read papers of philosophy by professors Dr. Nishida and Dr. Tanabe of Kyoto University. They founded what was called the "Kyoto School". I learned the dialectics. I also learned Buddhism and the Old and New Testaments by translations in Japanese. I intended further to read them in originals and began to study Sanskrit, Pali, Hebrew, and Greek. I thought the principle of Buddism might be:
"All things change with time and go in the worse direction when making no human effort".
In 1941 World War II broke out. I was in the ballistic section of the Institute of Explosives of the Second Tokyo Ordnance. All the officers in the ordnance felt uneasy because Japan was already fatigued by the long war in China. However, our works proceeded with no confusion. Everyone knew that battle is very foolish work for human beings, which are not different from animals. Men made many inventions in the war, however, there had been no invention which decreased the pain in their lives.
In 1942 I had an additional post, as teacher at the Artillery and Engineer Academy, where I gave lectures on interior ballistics to the young officers in the higher course. My students returned from the battlefields. I completely rewrote the text-book which had been a direct translation from a French one. I discovered a similarity rule to obtain velocity, pressure, and time, as functions of four parameters. When the war was over in 1945 I was a lieutenant colonel and the leader of the ballistic section of the Institute of Explosives. My military life was over with the defeat of Japan.
I had lost my spirit to survive, however, I had to live to support my wife and two children. I decided not to make explosives any more and selected to live in my birthplace, the village of Takamata. My parents were already dead and my junior brother was killed in battle in the Philippines. Few relatives supported me. I bought farm fields of two and a half acres from which I could obtain rice and vegetables for one years living. I built a small house of my own, a shack, without any help of a carpenter.
The house faced the south. There was a hill of Japanese Cedar behind the house. After a walk of ten minutes going up through cedars I would see a vast wild field. Before my house there were rice fields and eleven houses. The village was surrounded by copse hills through which a road and a stream passed outside. In the daytime my wife and I labored in the rice and vegetable fields and in the night I read sutras of Buddha under the light of an oil lamp while my wife and children where sleeping in bed. In spring and summer I enjoyed the twitters of birds. In the autumn my garden was full of flowers of cosmos. In winter it snowed deeply, and I heard the voices of hunted rabbits while I was weaving charcoal containers around the fire. I became very idle in writing letters and I acted rudely to people in acquaintance against my will. No radio or newspaper was in the house, and I could escape from troubles among people. The most terrible times were the rain storms and blizzards in the night. When attacking, I protected my family against the rain or snow by binding the doors and pushing them from the inside, however, it came into the rooms and fell onto the beds through the roof of cryptmeria barks. At last I fell into financial difficulties and had to sell books from my library with the help of my friend, Professor Namba of Tokyo University. One day I suddenly lost my eyesight. I thought I could not work anymore, fortunately I recovered in about a month. My wife fell ill, perhaps it came from an unbalanced diet. She had to go to her father living in Osaka. I had to bring up my children by myself.
One day in the autumn of 1951, when the sun was shining in the blue sky, I received a letter from Professor S. Yamamoto of the School of Explosives at Tokyo University. Dr. Yamamoto recommended Hanabi, fireworks, to me. I did not know anything about fireworks, but felt it might be very interesting and I accepted Dr. Yamamoto's request. Dr. Yamamoto was the only one who was concerned with fireworks at that time as a scholar in Japan. Dr. Yamamoto asked me to suppress accidents in this field and to make the traditional technique more scientific.
In November 1951 I obtained a position at Hosoyo Fireworks Co. in Tokyo through the introduction of Dr. Yamamoto. I had there two duties; to learn the manufacturing of fireworks from the president, Masao Hosoya, and to modernize the factory in business and technique. Mr. Hosoya very kindly taught his secrets in the technique called the "Machida School". I analyzed the technique of Japanese chrysanthemum shells and Dr. Yamamoto recommended that I submit the paper as a thesis for a degree. In 1958 I was granted the degree of Doctor of Engineering with the paper "The Design Conditions of Chrysanthemum Shells".
My senior, A. Kawai, who was a friend of Dr. Yamamoto, asked me to help with his work, the manufacturing of rocket propellants at the plant of Dainippon Celluloid Co. in Kochi village in Hyogo-ken. Therefore, I often visited the plant and helped Mr. Kawai in designing rocket propellant. In the plant there were not many people, but two very superior assistants, Matsumoto, and Matsuda.
In 1963 I changed my position to the Perfect Liberty Religion Order in Osaka, accepting the offer from the founder, T. Miki, who planned to build a new factory and an institute of fireworks. However, the plan was not realized because of financial reasons. I had been very much disappointed. Dr. Yamamoto had passed away in the same year and I lost my largest prop and stay in fireworks. I had plenty of time every day and decided to learn languages from the NHK Broadcasting. I had a secret desire to live in some foreign country to build a fireworks factory. I learned English, German, French, Spanish, Russian, Chinese, and by books, Italian, and Arabic. I used to walk from my house to the PL fireworks office memorizing Arabic letters. I was often interrupted by the kind PL teachers who offered to bring me by car.
In 1967 1 got my present position in the factory of Koa Fireworks. The factory was built by my old friend, the late N. Mizogami, who built a small laboratory for me. The factory was mainly producing maritime distress signals. I continued the study of fireworks finding time intervals at the work until today following the request of my old teacher Dr. Yamamoto. Therefore, very often, even on holidays, I am not working at home, but in my laboratory at the factory, which is fifteen kilometers distant from my house.
In the past some friends from overseas countries stayed overnight in my home in Kawagoe-shi, which is thirty five kilometers distant in the north-west from Tokyo: Miss Sigrid Wied, Dr. F-W Wasman, W. Zink from Germany, Pierre-Alain HUBERT from France, and Mrs. Pettit from the USA. Recently my wife fractured a vertebra and I can not invite guests to my home any more. My work room has been recently confused. The book-shelves are full of books and the residual books are scattered on the tables and floor. On the shelves there stand the complete works of philosophy by the late Dr. Nishida, and the same of the late Dr. Tanabe and of the late Kenji Miyazawa on his poets, the Testaments in various languages, books concerning Buddhism plus technical books, etc. They are covered in dust and will sleep until I have more time.

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**Black powder** (or gunpowder) in all its varieties undoubtedly is the most essential pyrotechnic material and no serious pyrotechnician can get on without. If we consider amateur pyrotechnics being more than making sparklers or basic fountains and lighting stars on the ground, we will have to draw our attention to one special question: **How can I manufacture suitable black powder my own?**
Many of us once got the shock of their pyro career comparing the performance of homemade powder with commercial and asked themselves: How the hell can the same chemical compound perform in such a different manner? Such experiences often initiate lifelong quests for fast powder.
Manufacturing high performance black powder is a skill best acquired at the very beginning of one´s pyro career. Having handy good gunpowder will crack numerous possible performance problems. However, numerous pyros seem to skip adopting such skills and there is a certifiable (but somehow understandable) trend to proceed to making complex items without knowing too much about the basics. Some hobbyists are satisfied with the outcomes of their work (so there is no reason why they should look for improvement); many others face problems and look out for help, not least justly accusing the bad performance of their black powder of being responsible for the outcomes.
It is the **purpose of this page** to assist both the newcomer and the experienced hobbyist in discovering suitable methods of small-scale black powder manufacture. It **discusses and compares the most relevant methods for home use in terms of efficiency, effort, cost, safety and outcome**. With the informations provided everyone should be capable of manufacturing diverse qualities of gunpowder ranging from basic, slow-burning composites (not every application requires a fast product!) to black powder reaching or surpassing the performance of commercial grain.
In addition the [Black Powder Manufacture - Questions page](Black_Powder_Manufacture_-_Questions_page.html "Black Powder Manufacture - Questions page") tries to answer possible questions and will respond the objections.
The following table compares some of the most common methods of small-scale BP manufacture.
| | | | | | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|**Method used**|**Efficiency**|**Effort**|**Cost**|**Safety**|**Performance of end product**|
|||||||
|A.) **Screening prepared materials**|high|low|low|rather safe|very low|
|B.) **Hand grinding (wet or dry)**|very low|very high|low|rather unsafe|low|
|C.) **Three component milling without ball mill**|high|low|low|unsafe|low|
|D.) **CIA method without preparing materials (in ball mill)**|medium|medium|high|safe|medium|
|E.) **Three component ball milling (up to three hours)**|medium - low|low|medium|unsafe|medium - high*|
|F.) **Three component ball milling (for more than 3 hours)**|low|low|medium|unsafe|medium - high*|
|G.) **Double & double component ball milling**|low|medium|medium|safe|medium - high*|
|H.) **Combined ball milling and CIA**|low|medium - high|high|safe **|medium - high ***|
(*) depending upon the efficiency of your mill (**) watch out for spillage of hot material! Gloves are essential! (***) depending on how carefully the process is executed
_About table:_ Efficiency is determined by the output of the process per unit of time. Effort describes how much work is necessary to produce an amount of powder (the time the pyrotechnician is busy with production; a running ball mill however does not add to this but to the first aspect). Performance compares the burning characteristics of the outcomes (it is plain that for a meaningful comparison we must use the same raw materials in every method).
A.) **Screening prepared materials:**
The [screen method](Screen_method.html "Screen method") is the most common method of mixing compositions (e.g. for most stars, fountains, etc.) and consists in passing prepared, hand mixed raw materials through a mixing screen several times. Although via this method the materials are sufficiently integrated for most pyro uses, the same is not true with gunpowder. If we mix gunpowder ingredients using the screen method the **outcoming product is very slow burning and leaves a lot of residue**. Powders gained by this process are **combustible but performing too weakly for realistic use** wherever we want to produce force or transfer fire fastly. On the other hand when all that we desire is a cheap combustible product screening is all we will have to do. Such a screened composite is often called **"scratch mix" or "green mix"** and is the **prime** of choice for most stars (not for e.g. AP based ones).
Apart from priming, the only popular use for screened black powder in modern pyrotechnics is as a structural filler in (cylinder) shells. As such it is called [Pulverone](Pulverone.html "Pulverone") (Polverone) or **rough powder**. Polverone is BP (with additional binders) integrated using the screen method and processed by wetting and rubbing it through a window screen (a process often referred to as [ricing](Ricingaction%3dedit.html "Ricing")). Many pyros also denominate well-integrated powders that have been riced as polverone, although they are actually using the wrong term. Polverone fills the spaces of e.g. cylindrical comet shells (similar to sawdust) and burns away when the shell goes off; due to its weak burning characteristics it is not used to lift or break shells (except in Maltese shells).
| |
| ------------------------------------------- |
| **Materials and tools:** |
| Raw materials |
| Scale |
| Coffee grinder, mill, roller or similar |
| Screen (100 mesh or finer) |
| Mixing screen (sth. between 16 and 60 mesh) |
| Two large sheets of paper |
| (Screening station) |
| |
|---|
|**Steps:**|
|1.) Singly prepare each material via milling, grinding with roller etc.|
|2.) Singly pass each material through 100 mesh|
|3.) Weight proper amounts out of presieved material|
|4.) Hand mix and pass through mixing screen several times|
|5.) (Reweight outcome)|
Using the screen method for making BP is highly efficient because it allows producing a high amount of powder in a short period of time, quickly screening the ingredients together. Effort and cost are low. Due to the low friction sensitivity of gunpowder the process is comparably safe. However, the performance of the outcome is very low.
B.) **Hand grinding (wet or dry):**
Hand grinding different materials using mortar and pestle has been a common mixing method for centuries and is still sometimes used by pharmacists and chemists. Except probably in the laboratories of its inventors and for experimental use, namable quantities BP were never manufactured in this manner - with good reason. Hand grinding gunpowder for some pyros (due to absence of suitable skill or machinery) still is the method of choice but it undoubtedly also is **the most laborious method you can choose**.
The force of the product will generally rise the longer the materials are ground, but there is a **practical limit of fineness** and integration approachable via hand grinding. Because of the properties of the grinding action the efficiency of the process will decrease if we increase the amount of material in the mortar (hand grinding needs a special technique and the materials are successfully ground only when we drive the pestle around the walls in a circular manner: too much material present makes efficient grinding impossible). So **we can only grind a small amount of material at once**. Even when the process is carried out correctly with a heavy pestle, it can take hours until the materials are suitably integrated. The force of the end product however remains weak (compared to other methods) under all practically defensible circumstances. Furthermore there is a small but existing risk of spontaneous ignition due to shock or friction; this and the fact that the pyro is always in close proximity to the powder being integrated makes this method comparably unsafe.
Some pyros argue that **wet grinding** drastically improves the outcome and makes the process safer, but the former argument remains doubtful. A moisture content imitating the conditions of commercial wheel milling does not add much force to the powder under low pressure hand integration. On the other hand, if we adapt wet methods (as those known for mixing very sensitive compositions) and increase the moisture content up to 30 percent by weight integration may be promoted, but the formation of large crystals of potassium nitrate during a slow drying process will break the performance of the powder.
To sum this up I do not advise anybody to use hand grinding to manufacture BP. However the process itself is easy and no further description is necessary.
C.) **Three component milling without a ball mill:**
In absence of a ball mill using other mills is standing to reason, e.g. **coffee grinders or small scale macerators** for kitchen use are cheap and readily available. Such machinery is not designed for continous operation but for an operating time ranging somewhere between a few seconds and minutes. There is also a practical limit for the achievable fineness of grist, so the materials won´t become finer after a certain period of milling.
While such mills are useful items for the preparation of raw materials (e.g. quickly grinding coarse saltpeter for use in stars) or of BP fuels before using the CIA method, employing them for three component BP milling (due to weak integration) **only produces a slow burning product**. Its performance probably ranges somewhere between screened and hand ground powder.
Depending on the capacity of your machine the efficiency is generally high. You can knock out a viable quanitity of powder in a short period of time, but the method is rather unsafe because a highly combustible composition is exposed to rotating metal blades or similar. Three component milling in small grinders is not advisable both from a safety and performance standpoint.
D.) **CIA method without preparing materials (in ball mill):** --> **see H.)**
E.) **Three component ball milling (up to three hours):**
Ball milling certainly is the **most popular method for small-scale BP manufacture** and can produce fast powder. Ball mills are capable of grinding and integrating materials down to a degree of fineness only few other mechanical methods can achieve. In pyrotechnics the [ball mill method](Ball_mill_method.html "Ball mill method") is reserved for two purposes for safety reasons: it serves well for a) the preparation of individual chemicals (e.g. before screening) or the integration of non-combustible compositions, and - with provisions - for b) the dense mixing of gunpowder type compositions without any metals. Ball milling must not be employed for mixing any compositions containing chlorates, perchlorates or metal powders!
When it comes to BP manufacture, we want ball mills to grind and integrate the raw materials as well as possible. But mills are not mills. Many ball mills are capable of producing very fine materials and fast powders in under three hours while other mills need a considerable number of hours to give the same outcome. But why is that and **what is a good mill**? Many people have done research about what makes a mill efficient, with Lloyd Sponenburgh leading the way. The reason that the mills (also known as Sponenburgh-mills or Sponenmills) designed following his concept are efficient cannot be found in the parts he uses or the ambitious mill layout he proposes, but in the compliance with some basic but very important construction principles. The details are best given on a distinct site concerning ball mills, but the most important points are:
- the jar is correctly proportioned and rotates at the right speed for its size
- the size of the media conforms to the jar size
- the amount of media stands in correct relationship to the jar capacity (50% of volume)
- the amount of processed material (load) stands in correct relationship to the jar capacity (25% of volume)
Using an **efficient mill** drastically reduces the milling times because every strike of the balls actually crushes material; milling times exceeding the three hours will not be necessary and will just unnecessarily wear both jar and media. Also note that in case of ball milling there is a **practical limit** of achievable fineness, so after a certain period of grinding the material will not come out noticeably finer or better, even if you grind it for weeks.
Now how is milling done? Once you determined the optimum charge for your mill, basically all you have to do is to load and switch on the mill. The tables give a description of the process.
| |
|---|
|**Materials and tools:**|
|Raw materials|
|Scale|
|Ball mill|
|(Large sturdy, coarse screen)|
| |
|---|
|**Steps:**|
|1.) (Determine optimum charge)|
|2.) Weigh out proper amount of raw materials corresponding to optimum charge|
|3.) Load jar with media and materials|
|4.) Mill for three hours in out of the way place|
|5.) Empty mill (using the large screen to retain media)|
What does determining the optimum charge mean and why do I have to do this? The opinions differ on how to best determine the optimum charge but I'd like to keep things easy and use the following method: The main problem is that ball mills are loaded by volume but we want to measure our raw materials by weight (with a scale). In other words, each time we load the mill we want an easily and accurately measurable (weighable) amount of material corresponding to both the optimum charge (by volume) of our jar and the ingredient ratios of the BP formula. Given these requirements we can´t just weight out a pound of raw materials and charge the mill by taking out a volume measured part equaling the optimum charge, because the ingredient ratios of this part taken out of unprocessed material will most likely deviate a lot from 75:15:10.
Proceed like this instead: If you use your new jar/mill for the first time weight out enough raw materials to give a pound of black powder and process them by hand as well as you can (e.g. by grinding them separately in coffee grinders and integrating them with screens) to produce a pound of fine green mix. Then measure a volume of green mix equaling the optimum charge of your jar (25% of its empty capacity) and weight it. This weight value is a close approximation of the weight of your mills optimum charge; let´s say it weights 150 grams. That means each time you´re going to mill BP in the future the only thing you have to do is to weight out 112.5 grams of bulk KNO3, 22.5 grams of bulk charcoal and 15 grams of bulk sulphur. You can optimize these specifications by measuring the outcome volumes of milling processes and accounting for deviations the next time. Note that you most likely will have to alter your optimum charge weight when using different kinds of charcoal (they largely deviate from each other in volume).
Due to the necessary milling of potassium nitrate three component milling is probably the **most inefficient way of using your mills capacity** for BP manufacture. Unless you are using large or multiple jars the amount of powder that can be processed at one go will be much less than you think it´s gonna be (note that the optimum charge is only 25% by volume of the empty jars capacity and especially charcoal is very voluminous, taking up a lot of volume and decreasing the possible charge weight).
The manufacturing process is quite effortless for the pyro because his mill does the majority of the work. However, three component milling of BP materials exposes a potentially inflammable substance to high amounts of shock and friction, although BP is known to be comparably safe in relation to other pyrotechnic compositions and ball mills employ parts (non-sparking grinding media, jars etc.) that drastically reduce the chance of accidental ignition, mills loaded with BP have been known to explode - with devastating results. I don´t want to convey the impression that three component milling inevitably ends in an accident (hundreds of pyros do this daily - and still are alive), but I (and many others) dislike milling a highly energetic mix in a confined space with heavy balls potentially acting as shrapnel. Speaking of possible hazards, hard (often metallic) foreign matter possibly contained in your charcoal and/or potassium nitrate pose a risk. To sum up, I would avoid three component milling, especially if alternative methods giving equal or better results are available. Such methods - against common sense - do exist and will be explained here.
F.) **Three component ball milling (for more than three hours)**
The process is the same as in the case of E.) but the **mill is left running for a longer time**. With regard to the pyro community numerous enthusiasts of ball milling can be found; they agree in their opinion on milling and vote for long milling times, sometimes ridiculously long such as overnight, a day, 60 hours and more.
While excessive milling may be necessary when using a mill of very low efficience, let me briefly mention some **arguments against such practice**:
- there is a practical limit of achievable fineness, so super-long milling will not much improve the outcome
- excessive milling wears media, jar and motor and consumes energy wastefully
- there is no need for excessive milling when using an efficient mill
- a running mill poses a potential hazard
Don´t get it wrong: if you are successfully using this method and are willing to accept its drawbacks, there is no reason why you shouldn´t persist on it. I´m just giving some arguments here.
G.) **Double & double component ball milling:**
The potential dangers of three component milling can be avoided by using double and double component milling. The **idea is to use two seperate steps of ball milling** and to integrate the results by non-milling means (e.g. by screening). In this case the possible performance gain of milling the oxidizer together with a fuel is still taken into account but the oxidizer-fuel ratio is modified in a way producing a non-combustible compound. While milling compounds showing mixing ratios of potassium nitrate to charcoal varying between 4:1 and 6:1 (also called the critical proportions) in actual fact is still as dangerous as three component milling, the oxidizer-fuel mix becomes **incombustible** when we raise the proportions to 15:1.
Against this background double and double component milling involves milling all of the potassium nitrate mixed with one third of the charcoal in a first step, and milling all of the sulphur together with the rest of the charcoal (again incombustible) in a second step. The outcomes of the two milling processes are finally integrated without using a ball mill.
| |
|---|
|**Materials and tools:**|
|Raw materials|
|Scale|
|Ball mill (with one or two jars)|
|Mixing screen|
|(Large sturdy, coarse screen)|
|(Screening station)|
| |
|---|
|**Steps:**|
|1.) Weigh out one third of charcoal and add to all of the KNO3 (Mix A)|
|2.) Take the remaining two thirds of charcoal and add to all of the sulphur (Mix B)|
|3.) Mill both Mix A and Mix B separately for three hours (this can be done simultaneously when using a two-jar mill)|
|4.) Empty jars (using the large screen to retain media)|
|5.) Integrate the two milled mixes well by hand and pass them through mixing screen several times|
The efficiency of this method is lower than that of three component milling because two milling steps are necessary. However the **process itself is much safer** and the powder produced can be just as good.
H.) **Combined ball milling and CIA**
**The CIA Method**
Against one´s expectations the [CIA method](CIA_method.html "CIA method") has nothing to do with the well-known US secret agency. Although similar techniques had been investigated by others earlier, the method presented here is the result of a series of studies conducted in the environment of the US army during the 1960s. The results of the study on black powder were published in a booklet entitled "CIA Field Expedient Preparation of Black Powders"; the booklet contained experimental data along with a how-to on improvised gunpowder manufacture addressing to US army soldiers in the field.
The method makes use of the fact that potassium nitrate is incredibly soluble in water. When a substance is dissolved, its "particles" are separated from each other on a molecular level - a property not attainable by any mechanical means. Thus, when we dissolve potassium nitrate, this implies: a.) the particles of the nitrate become very small, and b.) nitrate can be soaked into the pores of the charcoal, ensuring an intimate integration - two essential advantages when it comes to fast powder. However, the question is how a solid material can be retrieved from a solution without forfeiting the advantages only just obtained? When we allow the liquids to evaporate slowly, large crystals of KNO3 are formed, preventing the dried powder from reacting quickly.
On the other hand, when we use alcohol to precipitate the dissolved nitrate, its particles remain small and the resulting powder does not loose its explosive nature. This comes from the fact that potassium nitrate is insoluble in a water/alcohol mixture, while the alcohol also acts as a dehydrating agent and absorbs part of the water.
However, although the CIA booklet contained some valuable information, the outcomes of the method belied the high hopes of many pyros who had ordered both the booklet and lots of alcohol. The resulting gunpowder could not reach the performance of commercial. But why? While the original CIA approach requires optimization to give the best results possible, the inferior performance of many precipitated powders is explained mainly by an insufficient integration of the basic materials, in this special case, charcoal and sulphur.
**Improving the CIA approach**
Those of you who have ever tried to grow crystals will probably be aware of the following: If you want your crystals to grow large, you will have to allow your salt saturated solution to evaporate and cool down slowly. Conversely, we can employ this factor to our advantage when we rapidly cool down a saturated solution of potassium nitrate. Doing so will end in tiny (invisible) crystals and thus an improved integration of KNO3. Given these requirements we will concentrate our attention on the alcohol, which both absorbs the solvent and cools down the mixture, and improve the method by:
- using more alcohol
- using colder alcohol.
Although using more alcohol will raise the production costs of your homemade powder, it will drastically improve its performance. It´s a good idea to be generous in case of alcohol. Generally it is desirable to cool down the alcohol as far as possible; put it in the coldest corner of your refrigator (don´t use glass containers!) and leave it there for several days. Alcohol remains liquid far beyond the freezing point of water. It will take a considerable amount of time to cool it down properly.
**Improved CIA without ball milling**
When we make use of an improved CIA method and proper raw materials, we can produce a suitable black powder product even in absence of a ball mill. Although its burning speed is nowhere near commercial, it´s good enough for many pyro applications (for lifting stars, comets, shells, making fuses etc.). The CIA method is the best choice for those of you who don´t have access to a ball mill. In this case a coffee grinder or a small kitchen macerator is used to reduce a combination of charcoal and sulphur to a fine powder. The premixed C/S is then employed in the CIA process described below.
**Combining improved CIA and ball milling**
| |
|---|
|**CIA method: relative strenghts**|
|Particle size of KNO3 can be kept smaller as in case of ball milling|
|Wet process: KNO3 can be soaked into charcoal pores|
|**CIA method: relative weaknesses**|
|Cannot ensure small particle size/good integration of (water-insoluble) charcoal and sulphur|
| |
|---|
|**Ball milling: relative weaknesses**|
|Cannot reach KNO3 particle size of CIA (when properly executed)|
|KNO3 crystals cannot be jammed into charcoal pores by mechanical means|
|**Ball milling: relative strenghts**|
|Ensures both small particle size and intimate integration of charcoal and sulphur|
When the advantages of both CIA and ball milling are combined to manufacture black powder, the performance of the end product can reach or surpass commercial. While the CIA method - if properly executed - ensures a superior integration of potassium nitrate, the ball mill method is employed to intimately mix charcoal and sulphur.
I personally consider the combined approach to be the best method for amateur black powder manufacture (I attempted to argue why I rate it higher than plain ball milling). Even in case of comparably short milling times the resulting product is more than fast enough for all kinds of pyro use. On the other hand, if we desire further improvement, we can simply change this variable and mill the C/S for a longer time.
However, to give the best possible outcome the whole process - especially the wet mixing and precipitation procedure - has do be supervised and executed with great care and precision. The following lines try to give a detailed description of the process and point to possible problems.
**SECTION UNDER CONSTRUCTION** - Do not try out until method has been described in detail!
| |
|---|
|**Materials and tools:**|
|Gunpowder raw materials|
|750ml of well-chilled alcohol|
|Water|
|Scale|
|Ball mill|
|Hot plate (standalone, electric)|
|Large pot (with bottom fitting diameter of hot plate, preferably becoming wider towards the top, aluminum is a good choice)|
|Another wide pot|
|Two containers e.g. aluminum bowls to contain the chemicals needed|
|Spoon|
|Whisk|
|Measuring cup|
|Cloth strainer|
|Gloves (non-meltable material like cotton)|
|Some sheets of newspaper (or other absorbent paper)|
|(Baking sheet)|
|(Large sturdy, coarse screen)|
| |
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Steps (500g batch):** |
| 1.) Mill 75g of charcoal together with 50g of sulphur in an optimized mill, mill for two hours or more |
| 2.) Empty the jar (using the large screen to retain media) and transfer the charcoal/sulphur into a container |
| 3.) Weigh 375g of potassium nitrate and place it in a container |
| 4.) Measure 300-330ml of water and pour it into the large pot |
| 5.) Transfer all of the KNO3 into the same pot and start stirring using your whisk until a good amount of the salt is dissolved in the cold water; this takes a while |
| 6.) Switch on your hot plate and place the pot on it; continue stirring until all of the KNO3 is dissolved; this becomes easier as the water heats up |
| 7.) As soon as there is no more solid salt, start adding the dry C/S (in increments!) with a spoon and stir vigorously to make sure that all the C/S is thoroughly mixed and wetted with the saturated solution; due to a weird surface tension effect this will take a considerable amount of time! Note that the pot is still on the hot plate during this step, being constantly heated. |
| 8.) Once all the C/S is wetted and mixed in, bring the mix to a boil, stirring well. |
| 9.) Remove the pot from the heat and leave it alone for 30 minutes. |
| 10.) Place the pot on the hot plate again and bring it to a boil, constantly stirring well. |
| 11.) Remove the pot from the heat and empty the contents into another pot filled with icecold alcohol; stir vigorously to make sure that everything is well mixed with the alcohol |
| 12.) Line the empty cooking pot with the cloth strainer and transfer the powder/alcohol mix into it |
| 13.) Gather the cloth strainer to remove the retained solid matter; wring out the resulting "ball" and squeeze it well to remove as much moisture as possible |
| 14.) Line a baking sheet with newspaper and put in the powder retained in the cloth strainer; break up the ball by hand and distribute the powder well on the paper |
| 15.) Dry the powder well in a warm but shady location; you may place it the sun as soon as most moisture has evaporated |
| 16.) Crush the dried irregular grains will a roller to end up with powder ready for post-processing |
| |
TODO UPCOMING:
Post processing
Testing and Storing
**Recommended literature on BP (examples):**
Lancaster, Ronald: Fireworks. Principles and Practice, 3rd edition, Chapter 3: Gunpowder
Sponenburgh, Lloyd: Ball milling theory and practice
Von Maltitz, Ian: Black Powder Manufacture. Testing and Optimizing
Von Maltitz, Ian: Black Powder Manufacture. Methods and Techniques

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**Black powder** that passed through the steps of pressing to a known density (generally about 1.7-1.75g/ccm) and breaking down again, is finally separated by grain size using a nest of screens.
Due to practical considerations (physical properties etc.) and with a view to simplification (comparability, reproducibility etc.) **particle size ranges** of different grades of gunpowder were standardised (although commercial manufacturers still slightly deviate from each other). Different grades show distinct burning characteristics and are used for different purposes.
**Different grades of gunpowder (after GOEX standard)**
| | | | | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|**Grade:**|**through (mesh):**|**on (mesh):**|**Particle size range (microns):**|**Popular uses (examples):**|
|||||
|FA|3 1/2|5|5660-4000|uncommon, lifting very large calibre shells|
|2FA|4|12|4760-1680|lifting shells, breaking cylinder shells|
|3FA|10|16|2000-1190|lifting shells, lifting/breaking cake items, inserts|
|4FA|12|20|1680-840|lifting shells, comets, stars, lifting/breaking cake items, shell inserts|
|5FA|20|50|840-297|lifting stars; dipping primed crossettes, comets|
|6FA|30|50|595-297||
|7FA|40|100|420-149||
|Meal D|40|-|<420|priming stars, finished devices; used in fountain/star comps; charging spolettes|
|Fine Meal/Flour|100|-|<149|blackmatch manufacture|
|Extra Fine Meal/Flour|140|-|<105|blackmatch manufacture|
**On nomenclature:** The number of "F"s indicates the particle size of grain powders; the more Fs, the finer the grain. Sometimes e.g. a 4FA gunpowder is also written FFFFA, especially in some of the older publications. "A" indicates the fact that the powder contains potassium nitrate as the oxidiser, in contrast to so called "B" blasting powders using sodium nitrate, which are not normally used for fireworks. Graphite polished cannon grade powders are denoted replacing FA with "Fg", and e.g. a 4Fg shooting powder would be as fine as a 7FA fireworks powder. Fireworks powders are not normally polished, although polished grain sometimes can be found in consumer articles.

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**Black match**, also known as **bare match**, is a simple fuse that is regularly used in pyrotechnics, is very easily ignited and typically burns about 1 inch _(2.5 cm)_ per second, depending on the quality of the [black powder](Black_Powder-2.html "Black Powder") used. Commercially it is used almost exclusively for the manufacture of [quick match](Quick_match.html "Quick match") or in priming. However in some hobbyist circles it is commonly used as a fuse for igniting entire pyrotechnic devices. Black match is made by coating a thread or threads with a slurry consisting of Black powder, a solvent and a binder, with the solvent usually but not exclusively being water (with or without a fraction of alcohol added). Dextrin is the most commonly used binder in the hobby firework world, with Gum Arabic being less frequently used but superior, with many less issues with flexibility and crumbling. When using black match one must consider the potentially unreliably burn rate and the possibility of sparks from other devices igniting it.
Tutorial
Composition
Meal powder or Black powder 30
Dextrin 3
Tools and materials
Tools and materials
Tools
Plastic mixing cups, digital scales, mixing sticks--paddle pop sticks are fine, isopropyl alcohol, plastic spoons, spray bottle, small plastic container and 1/8" (3 mm) drill bit. You will also require standard cotton string that needs to absorb moisture easily (i.e. the black powder slurry). Do not use cooking twine, nylon string etc. It needs to be thick enough to slide through the 1/8" hole we are going to drill in the plastic container lid.
Measuring out ingredients
Measuring out ingredients
Method
Carefully weigh the meal and dextrin powders into the plastic cups and set them aside. The reason why you should weigh them separately is, if you add too much of an ingredient it is easily adjustable. Dextrin acts as a binder and when the composition dries the black powder will harden making the black powder covered string harden. Now measure out a ratio of 1:4 of isopropyl alcohol and water (ie. 10 ml of isopropyl alcohol and 40 ml of water), if you use more alcohol the dextrin will lose it's adhesive properties. Pour this into your spray bottle. You don't have to use a spray bottle, you can use a small mist pump or manually spoon small amounts of the solution into the mix, the choice is yours.
Screening together the two powders
Screening together the two powders
Now mix both the meal powder and dextrin together and blend using the screen method until the mixture is homogeneous.
Drilling hole in lid through which string will be pulled
Drilling hole in lid through which string will be pulled
With your small plastic container, drill a 1/8" (3 mm) hole into the center of the lid. Do this by placing the lid on a scrap piece of wood for support and slowly drill the hole. Make sure the hole is clean and has no burrs, if there are remove them.
Feeding string through the hole in the lid
Feeding string through the hole in the lid
Prepare your string by cutting it into approximately 30-40 cm lengths (12" - 16"). This is a convenient length to work with and provides long enough fuses for most purposes but longer or shorter lengths may of course be used. Take one length and thread it through the hole about 2-3 cm (3/4" - 1").
Spraying the solution
Spraying the solution
We now need to prepare the black powder slurry. Using your spray bottle add a small amount of solution we prepared into the composition and mix together. Continue adding the solution until you achieve a slurry paste (consistency of yogurt). The alcohol reduces the surface tension in the mixture and makes the water actually "wetter". When the string is pushed into the black powder slurry, it will absorb quickly into the cotton string, much faster than it would with just plain water. Empty the slurry into the plastic container.
Mixing the string into the slurry
Mixing the string into the slurry
Take the lid and feed the string into the slurry, taking care not to tangle it. Using a mixing stick submerge the string in the slurry making sure it is completely covered and attach the lid. You will need to let the string sit in the slurry for about 1 minute. This will allow the string to absorb the mixture deep into the fibers. Dampening the mix also dissolves the potassium nitrate and this will be easily absorbed into the pores of the charcoal, making the black match burn better.
Pulling sting through the lid
Pulling sting through the lid
Place one hand on the plastic container and take hold of the string. Carefully pull the string out of the hole. It will now have a nice even coat of black powder slurry. Attach the string to a board or clothes hanger with a peg and allow drying time of a few days. Although it may appear to dry in about a day, it will actually take several days to completely dry and become usable.
Dried black match
Dried black match
Simply repeat the process again with a new piece of string, you will need to add more solution to your slurry as the string will absorb the moisture and make the slurry dry. Once your black match is completely dry (it will be rigid) cut it to your desired lengths.

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A fountain (also referred to as a gerb) is a thick walled cardboard tube that is filled with pressed pyrotechnic composition. It has a solid clay plug at the base and a nozzle or choke at the exhaust end. At effect time the composition burns and the choke generates intense pressure inside the tube. As the composition escapes it sprays sparks, flame and gasses high into the air. The effect can be altered based on the composition and without a choke the effect would be a weak spray of sparks.
A fountain functions much like a end burning rocket and requires a composition that generates little to no dross as this will cause slag in the nozzle, limiting its performance or causing it to explode. Some commercial fountains are charged with varying coloured compositions, meaning the effect will change colour during the display.
## Materials
Casing
A thick walled paper tube is used as a casing. Under no circumstances be tempted to use materials other than paper. It is dangerous and unnecessary. Find, roll or buy thick walled cardboard tubes, preferably parallel wound as they are much stronger than spiral wound tubes. The tubes should be sufficiently strong to allow pressing or ramming without wrinkling and to withstand the intense internal pressure at effect time. In this example we are using a gloss red 3/4" inside diameter tube which is 3 1/2" long and has a 1/8" wall.
Effect charge
Various compositions can be used as the effect charge however it must not be a formula that generates large amounts of dross. Dross will clog the nozzle exhaust and reduce the performance or cause the firework to explode. Most fountain compositions contain metal powders which spray white or orange sparks into the air. Adding course metal powders may alter the burn rate of the mixture slightly, perhaps requiring you to adjust the dimensions of the nozzle.
The Nozzle
Fountains require a nozzle. This is a plug in the exhaust end of the fountain, with a small opening. Nozzles for fireworks are usually made with clay. Bentonite and kaolin clay work well. The dry clay powder is rammed into the casing, producing a solid plug. Cheap kitty litter is often made of bentonite clay and may be used instead. Grind up the kitty litter into a fine powder, which is most easily done with a ball mill or coffee grinder. This powder can be used to produce rock-hard nozzles that erode very little.
Tools
A rammer and a hammer are needed (or a hydraulic press). Non sparking materials, such as aluminium, brass, rubber and wood should be used. You will also need paper tape, visco fuse or black match and a scoop for your various powders.
## Construction
Temporarily seal one end of the casing with a piece of paper tape (if you have specialised tooling you will not need to do this). Take a small amount of nozzle mix and dump this into the casing, tapping it to settle the powder. The aim is to approximately make the nozzle the same thickness of the casings inner diameter. This can be a little tricky and is an important step in building your fountain. A nozzle that is too thin will not be able to withstand the inner pressure and blow off. Make your nozzle too thick and it will affect the fountains performance. To be consistent make some tooling like a powder scoop to measure the exact amount every time that way you are guaranteed accurate results.
Insert the ram into the inner casing and gently ram it with your hammer, or press it with your hydraulic press. You don't need to use a huge amount of force to achieve a rock hard nozzle. Exerting too much force will split you casing or cause a very small fracture, which under pressure can cause your firework to CATO.
Next you need to add your effect charge in small increments (as always, no more at a time than will give a layer after ramming as thick as the casings inner diameter). As with the nozzle, using a powder scoop for adding the powder can help produce consistent results at this point. If you add too much powder you can create small air pockets in the composition and this will affect the performance of your fountain.
As some compositions can only be pressed and not rammed it is very important you identify this prior to ramming the composition. Finally, ram or press a layer of clay again to form an end plug. The end plug of the fountain in the example is as thick as the casings inner diameter.
Next you will need to drill a hole in the fountain nozzle. Depending on the quality of your powder a 4 mm hole should be sufficient however a hole 1/2 the size of the tubes ID is a generally accepted rule of thumb. Take care to center the hole well. To increase the surface area of powder available initially, a mandrel (core) is drilled into the effect charge as well. In the example, the hole was drilled 10 mm into the effect charge.
All that remains is a fuse to light and attaching the fountain to a solid wood base. A sufficiently long (don't economise on fuse!) length of fuse is inserted into the nozzle and core of the fountain, as far as it goes. Black match or visco fuse may be used. If the fuse is loose, to prevent it from falling out it may be secured with a small piece of tissue paper which is pressed into the nozzle opening or prime . The fuse may be bent over and held in place with paper tape on the side of the fountain. This way of fusing allows you to light the fountain without having to hold a flame directly over the nozzle of the fountain and sparks falling into the nozzle, causing premature ignition. Remember, never stand over the fountain when lighting. The firework can now be mounted on a large solid piece of wood with hot melt or white glue.
## Improvement tip
To help inhibit dross formation, small amounts of hot mix composition (for example very fast burning black powder) can be added at periodic intervals. This is usually done at a ratio of 3:1. So 3 scoops of effect composition and 1 scoop of hot mix composition. This is not required for all fountain (gerb) compositions, however if you experience your nozzle being choked with dross then this will assist in clearing it during effect time.

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chapters/99-0-chemicals.md
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@ -7,4 +7,4 @@ methods, i.e., without breaking chemical bonds. Chemical substances can be
simple substances, chemical compounds, or alloys. simple substances, chemical compounds, or alloys.
In pyrotechnics specific chemicals are used for creating different effects. In pyrotechnics specific chemicals are used for creating different effects.
Some are used as helpers during manufacturing like solvents and binders. Some chemicals are used as helpers during manufacturing like solvents and binders.

1
chapters/99-1-chemical-strontium-carbonate.md
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@ -6,6 +6,7 @@ $SrCO3$
**Pyrotechnics use** **Pyrotechnics use**
Red color donor
**Synonyms** **Synonyms**

1
chapters/99-1-chemical-strontium-nitrate.md
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@ -6,6 +6,7 @@ $Sr(NO3)2$
**Pyrotechnics use** **Pyrotechnics use**
Oxidiser and red color donor
**Synonyms** **Synonyms**

1
chapters/99-1-chemical-strontium-oxalate.md
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@ -6,6 +6,7 @@ $SrC2O4.H2O$
**Pyrotechnics use** **Pyrotechnics use**
Red color donor
**Synonyms** **Synonyms**

1
chapters/99-1-chemical-strontium-sulfate.md
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@ -6,6 +6,7 @@ $SrSO4$
**Pyrotechnics use** **Pyrotechnics use**
Oxidiser and red color donor
**Synonyms** **Synonyms**

1
chapters/99-1-chemical-sulfur.md
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@ -6,6 +6,7 @@ $S$
**Pyrotechnics use** **Pyrotechnics use**
Fuel which reduces ignition temperature of compositions.
**Synonyms** **Synonyms**

2
chapters/99-1-chemical-sulfuric-acid.md
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@ -6,7 +6,7 @@ $H2SO4$
**Pyrotechnics use** **Pyrotechnics use**
Synthesis of some compounds Synthesis precursor
**Synonyms** **Synonyms**

1
chapters/99-1-chemical-ultramarine.md
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@ -6,6 +6,7 @@ Sodium alumino sulfosilicate
**Pyrotechnics use** **Pyrotechnics use**
Color donor fuel
**Synonyms** **Synonyms**

1
chapters/99-1-chemical-xanthan-gum.md
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@ -6,6 +6,7 @@ $(C35H49O29)n$
**Pyrotechnics use** **Pyrotechnics use**
Binder and fuel
**Synonyms** **Synonyms**